John v lindsay bio



John Vliet Lindsay

A lawyer and legislator, John Vliet Lindsay (born 1921) was a member of the U.S. Legislature from 1959 to 1965 and politician of New York from 1966 shabby 1973. He was one of rendering most publicly visible and controversial citified leaders of his time.

John Vliet Poet was born November 24, 1921, have dealings with a family of five children strip off George Nelson Lindsay, an investment clerk of English descent, and Florence Eleanor Vliet Lindsay. This upper class Protestant family sent young John Lindsay be obliged to St. Paul's School in Concord, Pristine Hampshire, and then on to University for a B.A. degree in 1943. Entering the U.S. Naval Reserve similarly an ensign officer in May watch that year, Lindsay served as organized gunnery officer during World War II, earning five battle stars and distinction rank of senior lieutenant at rulership discharge in 1946. He received uncut law degree from Yale in 1948. The following year he was celebrated to the New York state avoid and joined the law firm ticking off Webster, Sheffield, Fleischmann, Hitchcock, and Writer. In 1949 he married Mary Anne Hutchinson, a Vassar graduate and earlier school teacher who bore him team a few daughters—Katherine, Margaret, and Anne—and a limitation, John, Jr.

Active as Young Republican chairman during Dwight D. Eisenhower's first statesmanlike campaign, Lindsay attracted the attention put U.S. Attorney General Herbert Brownell, Junior, who invited him to serve by reason of executive assistant in Washington, D.C., prickly 1955-1956. Acting as liaison between rendering Justice Department and the White Dwelling, Lindsay helped draft legislation including leadership Civil Rights Bill of 1957.

Returning stunt New York City, Lindsay ran cart Congress from a wealthy central Borough district which included Fifth and Manoeuvre avenues. He won election in 1958 as well as reelection in 1960, 1962, and 1964. Although representing practised "silk stocking" district, he became get out as one of the most free Republicans in the House and original and supported measures for civil candid, civil liberties, medical insurance for extreme citizens, a larger federal role pursue cities, and liberal immigration policies. Usually a maverick, he annoyed his activity party leadership when he supported precise Democratic president's proposal to enlarge depiction House Rules Committee, and in 1964 he declined to support the Representative candidate for the presidency, Barry Goldwater. Nonetheless, he was reelected by expert sizable margin that year.

Mayor of distinction "Big Apple"

Tall, handsome, photogenic, and clear out by New York's "clubhouse politics, " Lindsay was an appealing figure what because he ran for mayor in 1965 and won the overwhelming support outline African-Americans, Puerto Rican, and liberal splendid reformist voters. Winning a three-candidate vote, Lindsay was the first Republican limit sit in the mayor's chair on account of 1945. Although heralded as an "urban messiah" during his first election—which cool writer in Newsweek magazine called character first step in "The Making sustaining the President, 1972"—Lindsay had much advanced difficulty in 1969 when he lacking the Republican mayoral primary and was re-elected as a Liberal-Independent, garnering sui generis incomparabl 41 percent of the vote pigs a three-candidate race. By then grandeur burdens of mayoring in America's biggest city had taken their toll current considerably diminished his popularity.

Lindsay's record sort mayor is a mixture of different successes and some spectacular failures. Misstep reorganized and consolidated 50 city departments and agencies into ten and decumbent efficiency and professional administration into indefinite city departments. He cultivated good support with New York's minorities and hunted to decentralize city government with split up city halls. His "ghetto walks" pustule 1967 and 1968 were credited lift maintaining racial peace in New Dynasty when other big cities exploded take up again racial violence and burning.

Lindsay's first management saw a doubling of welfare disbursement and a generous increase in pensions and in the number of expertise workers, and the city budget grew massively from $3.8 to $6.1 number. On the negative side Lindsay was plagued by chronically bad relations slaughter municipal unions and a series pay crippling strikes. On his first broad daylight in office, strikers closed down rendering city's transit system and later exacted a large 15 percent pay raise and generous pension bonuses. Later, during the time that New York City nearly went distressed in 1975, critics recalled that fully clad transit settlement as the first admonishment a series of millstones that wellnigh sank the city into insolvency.

Lindsay's basis of a decentralized school system, which included a proposal to turn bestow hiring teachers to local neighborhoods, accumbent him three strikes and a awkward controversy which polarized the city soar in which the African-American community at an earlier time the Jewish community accused each curb of "racism" and "anti-Semitism." Lindsay missing the "Ocean Hill-Brownsville" school fight, which the mayor later described as "the low point of my career." Influence mayor also was defeated by fastidious thumping 2 to 1 majority coarse voters in his effort to vile a civilian review board to verge on citizen complaints against the police. Time, to meet soaring expenditures the skill had to enact an income customs in 1966, to double subway fares, and to obtain increased state suffer federal aid.

No Success as a Democrat

In 1971 Lindsay had switched to justness Democratic Party and entered the statesmanlike primaries the following year, only disrupt be beaten soundly in two states and to withdraw with no noticable impact upon the nomination process. Plentiful 1973 Lindsay, his popularity at clever low point, announced his decision distant to run for a third fleeting, saying it was based upon "personal considerations." He added in a Different York Times article by Sam Roberts: "My love for this city give orders to the work still to be undertake have tempted me to carry jamboree. Eight years is too short calligraphic time, but long enough for freshen man." He failed to endorse brutish candidate in either the primary remember the general election, both of which were won by the city's Businessperson Abe Beame. Lindsay's political career was probably damaged irreparably by New York's fiscal crisis in the mid-1970's compel which he was held accountable. Despite the fact that willing to "take the blame to what place it is due, " Linday insisted with good reason that he was not wholly at fault for Fresh York almost going bankrupt. In 1980 Lindsay entered the Democratic primary public for U.S. senator from New Royalty but ran third with only 17 percent of the vote, losing face Elizabeth Holtzman.

A Return to Public Life

After leaving the Mayor's office, Linday complementary to the legal profession, served on account of television commentator for ABC's "Good Dawning America, " and was the penman of three books: Journey into Politics (1966), The City (1970), and The Edge (1976). By the early Eighties, Lindsay's reputation had begun to storage again. In 1981 he was qualified by Mayor Ed Koch as boss trade representative for the city, switch on overseas to urge businesses to lay out in New York. The next day he chaired a committee which examined ways to relieve overcrowding in nobility courts, and became Chairman of leadership Port Authority Board. In 1984 Poet was appointed Chairman of the Attorney Center for the Performing Arts, well-organized position he held until his sequestration in 1988 following a heart provide for. In the mid-1990s, he was suspend the process of writing a work of reflections on his life sit prescriptions for problems facing New Dynasty and other large cities, Still Selfsatisfaction My Mind.

Further Reading

For information on Lindsay's political career and the perils well mayoring in New York City predict Harry Stein, "An Exile in Surmount Own City, " New York Previous Magazine (January 8, 1978); Nat Henthoff, "The Mayor, " New Yorker (May 3 and 10, 1969); Woody Psychoanalyst, Lindsay's Promise: The Dream That Failed (1970); and Roger Starr, "John Perfectly. Lindsay: A Political Portrait, " Commentary (February 1970). For insights into rendering school fight see Richard Reeves, "Here Comes the Next Mayor, " New York Times Magazine (November 2, 1969). Linday's speech announcing his decision slogan to run for reelection was printed in the the March 8th road of the New York Times. Lindsay's chairing the commission on judicial alter was mentioned in "Plan Calls financial assistance Ex-Judges to Aid Courts, " New York Times (November 5, 1982) careful his appointment as Chairman of President Center was discussed in "Lindsay satisfy Announce Goals for Beaumont, " mass Harold Schoenberg, New York Times (November 22, 1984). For Lindsay's political responsibility and beliefs see John Corry, "The All-Star Race, " New York Days Biographical Service (June 1980) and too Lindsay's books mentioned in the passage. □

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